Ocean, nature, critters, and recreation

July 2017

Jul 30, 2017

The next time you enjoy a plate of steaming Dungeness crab, consider the plight of a young humpback whale that was rescued Sunday off San Clemente, Calif.

The 25-foot juvenile whale had become entangled, perhaps several weeks ago or longer, in crab-fishing gear from Washington State. Ropes attached to floats were wrapped tightly around the base of the whale’s tail fluke, and around parts of its upper body, including its mouth.

The mammal carried the gear more than 1,200 miles, and it remains unclear how effectively the whale was able to feed.

The first attempt to rescue the whale occurred late Saturday off Palos Verdes in Los Angeles County. A disentanglement team from Marine Animal Rescue attached a telemetry buoy, but could not remove the gear before darkness fell.

The telemetry buoy enabled rescue teams, in an effort led by Justin Viezbicke of NOAA Fisheries, to locate the whale Sunday morning off San Clemente, in south Orange County.

Units from the Pacific Marine Mammal Center, SeaWorld, and Marine Animal Rescue worked for several hours, according to those monitoring the rescue effort, before the whale swam away with only a single line trailing its mouth.

Viezbicke, California Stranding Network Coordinator for NOAA Fisheries, had not responded to a request for a statement at the time of this post.

However, Viezbicke told the Orange County Register: “The prognosis is guarded. It will depend how the remaining line affects [the whale's] foraging.”

Last year there were 71 reported cases of entangled whales off the U.S. West Coast (54 were humpback whales). It was the highest annual total since NOAA Fisheries began keeping records in 1982. Of the 71 reported entanglements, 48 were confirmed by NOAA.

Last year, according to NOAA Fisheries, there was a sharp increase in the number of entanglements associated with the Dungeness crab fishery. However, entanglements also involve gillnets, spot prawn-fishing gear, sablefish trap gear and lobster trap gear.

Rescue teams relocated an entangled humpback whale Sunday morning off San Clemente in south Orange County, and were hoping to free the mammal.

The 30-foot whale was first located Saturday afternoon off Palos Verdes in Los Angeles County. Experts with the Marine Animal Rescue (MAR) removed some of the commercial fishing gear – ropes with trailing floats – before dusk, and attached a telemetry buoy to enable teams to track the cetacean's movements.

The whale’s location on Saturday night was off Laguna Beach. Sunday’s search, coordinated by NOAA Fisheries, was launched from Oceanside Harbor.

Jul 25, 2017

*Story updated Wednesday morning to include updated statement by the FWC

By Pete Thomas

What appears to have been a cruel post-catch ritual – towing a large shark at high speed – could land three Florida anglers in hot water.

The video was first posted to the Shark Fishing Worldwide Facebook page on Monday, beneath the caption: “Bull Buster is so tough you can drag a shark at 30 knots with it.”

The graphic footage shows three men on the boat seemingly enjoying the sight of a 5- or 6-foot shark skipping violently across the water.

Brice Walker, who posted the video, told me that he wasn’t on the boat. Walker identified the captain as Michael Wenzel, but this could not be confirmed. (Wenzel did not respond to a Facebook message sent Monday night.)

According to Fox 13 in Tampa, the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission has launched an investigation. The FWC did not release the anglers' names.

Rob Klepper, Public Information Coordinator for the FWC, said in a statement issued Tuesday, “The FWC has been alerted to a video circulating on multiple social media sites showing a group of individuals traveling at high speed on the water dragging a shark behind the vessel.

“The FWC takes this very seriously and is currently investigating this incident. We are also attempting to identify the individuals in the video and where it took place.”

Klepper added, “It’s too early to speculate as to what, if any, violations took place in this incident. However, the FWC would like to state that that the lack of respect shown in this video for our precious natural resources is disheartening and disturbing, and is not representative of conservation-minded anglers around the world."

Reactions were were mixed on the Shark Fishing Worldwide comments thread, but predominantly negative on other pages.

“Why would someone do this? one person commented. “Is it supposed to be funny? I would love to drag his dumb ass the same way! I love to shark fish, but everything I catch is released.”

It’s not clear whether the shark was alive before it was roped and towed, but Walker said, “I’m pretty sure it was alive. They put a tail rope on them then drag them to kill them. That's a standard method in tournaments. I have seen guys do it at high speed before, but these guys were dumb to film it. [They] didn't realize it would spread as fast as it did.”

Klepper said that anyone with information pertaining to this incident “is urged to contact the FWC’s Wildlife Alert Hotline at 888-404-3922 or Tip@MyFWC.com. Individuals can remain anonymous.”

Jul 19, 2017

One of the planet’s largest shark species is rarely encountered because it roams the shadowy depths between 600 and 3,000-plus feet. The sixgill shark, which can measure to about 18 feet, is therefore mysterious and alluring.

That’s why scientists aboard the EV Nautilus were excited to document the presence of two sixgill sharks last week while using an ROV to probe the depths around California’s Channel Islands.

Both encounters, although brief, were caught on video as the sharks entered the ROV’s lights. (Videos accompany this post.)

“That could be a sixgill shark,” one of the crew says in the first minute-long clip, posted to Twitter on July 11.

Moments later the robust shark is fully in view, prompting a scientist to marvel, “Wow… check this out,” as the shark swims slowly through artificial light.

The next day a different sixgill shark provided a longer and closer look, inspiring this remark, “He’s giving us a little show.”

During the second encounter, a crab briefly stole the spotlight as it crawled across the ocean floor, and into the ROV’s lights, toting another crab in its claws. (In the YouTube video at 1:07.)

“Is that a taxicrab?” a scientist wondered aloud, prompting another scientist to answer, “It’s an Uber crab.”

The researchers did not identify the crab species, but there was no mistaking the shark species.

Sixgill sharks are so-named because they possess six gill slits on each side of their heads, versus five for most other shark species.

The peculiar-looking sharks, which prey largely on seals, fish, squid, crabs and smaller sharks, are most closely related to fossil species dating back 200 million years to the Triassic period of the Mesozoic Era.

The EV Nautilus is conducting a yearlong exploration of the Eastern Pacific, from Canada to Mexico’s Revillagigedo Islands.

Mola molas are the planet’s heaviest bony fish. They can reach sizes of about 14 feet vertically and 10 feet horizontally, and can weigh as much as 5,000 pounds. Only sharks and rays, which are cartilaginous rather than bony, are heavier.